Replying to a question on frequent cancellation of flights, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told Lok Sabha that such cancellations are 0.7% of the total air traffic movements in civil aviation across the country.
“Our fleet size has doubled in the last 10 years and the number of air traffic movements per week has grown by 22% in the last two years,” the Minister said.
“In the event of a cancellation or delay, two things must be taken care of – security concerns with regards to airports, any infringement on that… strict action must be taken and passengers must not be inconvenienced.”
On the viral video of IndiGo passengers having food on the Mumbai airport tarmac, the Minister said the incident was unacceptable. “The airline should have radioed the airport in advance. The plane should have been parked in an air terminal. Passengers should have been disembarked and given food properly. Then when the plane was ready, they should have been boarded and taken to the destination. We have imposed the fine on both the airline and airport because it caused inconvenience to passengers and was an infringement to security,” the Minister replied.
